DESCRIPTION (adapted from the applicant's application): The proposed research will analyze the impact of federal and state-level anti- discrimination laws on a variety of labor market outcomes for disabled persons in the U.S. Numerous studies have shown that persons with disabilities have lower economic status and that disability status is strongly associated with reduced labor force participation, wages and earnings, despite a multitude of programs targeted toward disabled workers. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted by Congress in 1990 to confront large disparities and to establish, inter alia, equal access and opportunity to employment in public and private sectors for persons with disabilities. At the time the ADA was enacted, there were a myriad of laws at the state level establishing employment protection for disabled workers. The proposed research will extend previous analyses by evaluating the labor market outcomes for disabled workers while directly considering the impact of state-level statutes establishing anti-discrimination laws covering the disabled. The specific aims of the project are to: (1) Compile a detailed summary of the characteristics of state statutes pertaining to employment rights for disabled workers; (2) Develop and estimate a model of the impact of these state laws on employment, wages and earnings of different groups of workers; (3) Explore the impact of reasonable accommodation and enforcement mechanisms across state laws; and, (4) evaluate the impact of the ADA with controls for characteristics of pre-existing state laws. The proposed project will provide a foundation for several future studies that will build on our findings and methodology. One such area of future work will consider the substantial and growing proportion of the disabled population that are older workers. Analysis will be extended to include the separate and perhaps complementary impacts of legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of age.